Hi everyone,
I am a junior in high school, and as such I’ve been thinking about which colleges I want to apply to, and have decided to ED either to Dartmouth or Duke. I want to double major in econ + applied math/statistics, and go into investment banking/private equity after graduation. I wanted to know how Dartmouth and Duke compare on Wall Street in terms of prestige, job placement, and on campus recruiting. In particular, how is recruiting in both schools for boutique firms/PE firms such as Blackstone, Lazard, Moelis, and Evercore?
I like both schools equally, so my decision will ultimately come down based on wall street placement.
My stats are as follows:
-GPA: 4.5 weighted
-SAT: 1590
-So far I have taken 7 AP Courses, and will be taking 5 next year
-I started two clubs and have officer positions in 3 (including the two I founded)
-I have done many projects with college professors on computational optimization, option pricing algorithms, and data
analytics
-National Honor Society Member
For reasons related to program strength in economics as well as general outcomes, Dartmouth might have the slight edge with respect to your career goals:
Classes are slightly smaller at Duke, but Dartmouth has fewer students, especially if you factor in graduate students. Dartmouth feels much more rural than Duke, which has a self-contained campus adjacent to several thousand acres of forest but is located among several decent-sized towns (Durham, Chapel Hill, Raleigh). Greek life is bigger at Dartmouth, whereas athletic events (both basketball and football) are big at Duke, especially with its fiercest rival located only 8 miles away. It really comes down to fit and personal preference.
There’s no doubt that ED gives a boost in admissions, but you should run an EFC calculator before you decide whether to apply early.
@warblersrule brings up a critical point. Before you get too excited about ED applications, talk with your parents about how they expect you to pay for your education, and run the Net Price Calculators at both of these institution’s websites, as well as at at least one of your own home state’s public universities.
I would give Duke a small advantage regarding Wall Street placement, but agree with the previous poster that one shouldn’t base their decision on that factor alone.
Sports - advantage Duke. Basketball powerhouse in a clearly superior athletic conference.
Weather - advantage Duke. Dartmouth = long, brutal winters - less than 200 miles from Montreal. Duke = sunny South with mild winters.
Location - advantage Duke. Dartmouth is in Hanover, New Hampshire (aka the Middle of Nowhere) - remote rural campus. Duke is on a suburban campus in Durham, NC - population > 250,000.
Social life - advantage Duke. Just so much more to do and see in Durham/Raleigh/Cary/Chapel Hill CSA.
My reply above (post 2) with respect to outcomes was hasty and really based on little more than a single Forbes article. Based on a wider range of sources (as mentioned on this thread), I should retract that portion of my comment.
They are both terrific schools and either will be quite attractive to future employers, regardless of industry. As others have stated, I would focus on fit if these are your two ultimate choices, as they are quite different. Having lived in both the north and south for many yrs (New England and FL - over 25 yrs each), the vibes are 180 degrees. That may matter less in college as you will be with your crew in a somewhat of a bubble, but the local area, weather, attitudes, etc do play a factor in enjoying life.
Curious - if you are focused on Wall St and are capable of Dartmouth / Duke admissions, why not look at Wharton, NYU, etc? May be splitting hairs, but they have the best placement (together with Harvard).
Duke has its own 18-hole championship golf course, as well as its own 7000+ acre forest used for research, teaching and recreation (running, hiking, biking, climbing, horseback riding, etcetera.)
Duke athletics in the elite ACC conference easily trumps Dartmouth, which is anemic even for second-rate Ivy League athletics.
Social life at Duke is excellent, with so many restaurants, night clubs, recreational and cultural options in the world-renown Research Triangle area of North Carolina. Middle of Nowhere, New Hampshire can’t even come close to matching the sheer number of options Duke students have.
And of course most importantly, Duke has better placement among bulge bracket investment banks.
Eh not really, Dartmouth has a very strong strong tradition in Wall Street and a super close knit alumni network. Don’t really think there is any substantial difference compared to Duke and the ivy tag still carries some weight on Wall Street. I think the choice should be based on where you think you will be happier.
Based on its curriculum, large enrollment and location, Baruch probably sends at least as many of its graduates to Street firms as any of the schools mentioned on this thread.
@JerseyStudent1 The 4.5 weighted gpa is out of what max possible? Can you give us the unweighted GPA? You may want to ED2 to NYU Stern if ED to your top choice doesn’t pan out. All this is assuming your parents can afford the ED choices.
If I read about students doing research with professors on some esoteric stuff like options price modeling, I would also be looking for objective math accomplishment at a high level through AMC competition or similar and/ or university level math courses. I think AO’s at Dartmouth or Duke would be sophisticated enough to assume likewise.